The former boss of France Telecoms Mr Didier Lombard and six other executives have gone on trials in Paris over allegation of harassment linked to restructuring that led to a spate of suicides among employees.
Mr Lombard and the other defendants deny their tough restructuring measures were to blame for the subsequent loss of life.
The company since renamed Orange is also on trial for the same offence.
Thirty-five staff took their lives between 2008 to 2009, some of them left messages blaming France Telecoms and its managers.
If found guilty, the defendants could each face a year in prison and 15,000 pounds fines, orange
itself could face a sanction of 75,000 pounds.
